TAMUC – Sports

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce junior Blake Hartford has been named the Lone Star Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week, as announced by the LSC office Thursday.

Hartford (Spring – Klein Collins) was the Lions’ top placer at the Palmer Foundation Invitational to start the 2018-19 season. The reigning LSC Champion was under par in two of his three rounds, opening the year with a 4-under par 67. Hartford finished with a 210 total (67-73-70).

This is Hartford’s third career LSC Golfer of the Week honor. He was a GCAA All-Region honoree and First Team All-LSC selection in the spring of 2018.

Lions score early and late, earn 2-0 shutout of Ouachita Baptist.

TEXARKANA– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team got a 2-0 shutout win over Ouachita Baptist on Wednesday afternoon. The Lions scored their first goal in the seventh minute and added a late insurance goal to get the win.

The win brings the Lions to 3-1-0 on the season, as the blue and gold pick up their first shutout of the year. The Tigers fall to 2-3 on the season.

A&M-Commerce will return to action on Saturday with a home match against Harding. The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Lion Soccer Field.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Michelle Kotlik (Grapevine) netted her first goal of the season, scoring in the seventh minute. She had two shots on goal in the match.
– Leslie Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial) scored her second goal of the year in the 83rd minute. Three of her four shots in the match were on target.
– Sabrina Munguia (Baytown – Sterling) had three of her five shots on goal in the game and also assisted on Campuzano’s goal, her first assist of the season.
– Caitlin Duty (Crandall) and the Lion defense produced their first shutout of the season. Duty made six saves in the match while the Lion defenders blocked six more OBU shots.
– Cora Welch (Plano) had both of her shots go on goal and Delaney Bunselmeyer (Denton – Ryan) had a shot on goal as well.
– 11 of the Lions’ 14 shots were on target. OBU took 23 shots in the match but had only six shots on goal.
– Two yellow cards were issued late in the game, one on each team.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions had the first opportunity of the match as Campuzano had an early shot on goal that was saved in the second minute. The Lion attack kept coming as in the seventh minute, Kotlik as able to find the back of the net. The Lions led 1-0.

OBU countered back in the 16th minute with a shot that was saved by Duty. The attack also drew a corner kick, but the Lions sent it away without a chance.

The Lion offense again was on the attack in the 18th minute. Munguia had a shot that was saved. The Lions then drew two corner kicks in a matter of seconds and the second allowed Kotlik to get another shot on goal. OBU keeper Erin Webster was there to make the save, keeping it a one-score game.

The Lions survived a scare in the 28th minute as a shot from OBU’s Katie Crouse went off the post of the goal. The Tigers had another chance that went high in the 30th minute. Duty was also there to make a save in the 32nd minute to keep OBU off the board.

The Lion offense again went on the attack as Munguia had another shot on goal in the 34th minute. The ball was saved and knocked out of bounds. Welch also had a shot on goal in the 37th minute, but Webster was there again to make the save. Duty made a save in the 43rd minute, and an OBU shot late in half was wide. The Lions took their 1-0 lead into the half.

All six of the Lions’ shots in the first half were on goal. The Lions were very physical as well in half, drawing eight fouls. OBU took eight shots, with three on goal.

The Lions had two early shots in the first minute of the second half, but both were wide of the goal. OBU had two older shots blocked by the Lion defense before Duty made another save in the 63rd minute.

Munguia had her third shot on goal in the 66th minute, but the ball was saved. OBU then had another good chance in the 68th minute, but Meagan North’s shot hit off the post, and the Lions were able to get the ball out of the zone.

Welch had her second shot of the day on goal in the 75th minute, but Webster was there to make the save. Campuzano also had her second shot of the day saved by OBU in the 77th minute. Campuzano would not quit however as she was able to score a goal in the 83rd minute off of an assist from Munguia.

Duty made a save on an OBU header off a corner kick in the 88th minute, and Bunselmeyer had a late shot on goal saved.

LION ATHLETICS ANNOUNCES RECORD PHILANTHROPIC REVENUE YEAR

COMMERCE – A&M-Commerce Athletics had a record-setting revenue year in 2017-18. The Lions received over $715,000.00 in private cash gifts, corporate gifts, and external sales, during the fiscal year 2018.

That total includes over $600,000 in philanthropic gift support and corporate partnerships. The remaining revenues came from record ticket sales across all ticketed sports (football, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, and outdoor track and field).

“Just as our student-athletes and sports program success has come from dedication and teamwork, our season ticket holders, LCF donors, and community have been equally dedicated teammates to our mission of providing a Best in Class student-athlete experience,” A&M-Commerce Director of Athletics Tim McMurray said. “To be certain, we thank our Lion Champions Fund donors, our Lion Sports Properties partners, and our season ticket holders for record levels of investment. I also commend the work of (Associate Athletics Directors) Taylor Phelps, Josh Manck, our head coaches, our partners in Institutional Advancement, and our external units for making the fiscal year 2018 a championship effort.”

The philanthropic record giving was anchored by three critical charitable initiatives during 2017-18. The Lion Champions Fund – the athletics development arm for Lion Athletics – generated over $418,186.00 in cash gifts to directly support TAMUC’s 426 student-athletes. In the fiscal year 2016, that number was less than $60,000.

The Ernest Hawkins Legacy Campaign saw $361,000.00 in cash gifts and pledges over a six-week period that assisted in naming the playing surface at Memorial Stadium as Ernest Hawkins Field. This campaign also included the two most substantial gift commitments in the history of Lion Athletics.

Additionally, the inaugural Night with Champions event – celebrating our 2017 football national championship – generated over $99,400 in football summer school scholarship support.

“The investment our donors and partners have made in the lives of our student-athletes has led to some remarkable strides for Lion Athletics,” Phelps noted. “Through scholarship contributions, facility improvements, and competitive support, we are extremely grateful for the modern philanthropy of the past year, but there is still work to be done on engaging friends and alumni of A&M-Commerce. We encourage all Lions to join in our efforts for a Best in Class experience.”

For information on becoming part of our championship program, please contact Phelps at (903) 886-5554.

Top-ranked Lions head west to take on Eastern New Mexico for first LSC road test of 2018.

COMMERCE – The No. 1 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team hits the road for a vital road Lone Star Conference test against the triple-option offense of Eastern New Mexico University. The Lions have been excellent on the road in the last six seasons and have a chance to create the longest winning streak by either team in this series.

WHO: Texas A&M University-Commerce at Eastern New Mexico University
WHERE: Portales, N.M. | Al Whitehead Field at Greyhound Stadium
WHEN: Noon on Saturday, September 15
RECORDS: The Lions are 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Eastern New Mexico is 0-2 overall and playing its first Lone Star Conference game of the season.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 1 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and No. 2 in the D2Football.com Media Poll. Eastern New Mexico is unranked.

LIONS LOOK TO CONTINUE ROAD SUCCESS
• With the 27-17 win in the road battle at William Jewell, the Lions extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 12 games.
• The Lions have now won six consecutive true road games, including three road games in the 2017 Division II playoffs.
• In the six seasons under head coach Colby Carthel, the Lions are 19-2 in true road games in the regular season against Division II opponents.
• This is the first of two consecutive road Lone Star Conference games for the Lions, which are sandwiched around two non-conference home games.
• After the mix-and-match of the conference and non-conference games, the Lions close the regular season with six consecutive LSC games.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE GREYHOUNDS
• This is the 32nd meeting between the two schools.
• The Lions took a 16-15 lead in the all-time series with last season’s win in Commerce.
• The Lions have won the previous four meetings, which is their longest-ever winning streak against the Greyhounds.
• A&M-Commerce has scored at least 35 points in each of the last five contests vs. ENMU.
• The Greyhounds have won 11 of the 15 games played in Portales/Blackwater Draw.
• The Lions have won the previous two games at ENMU, which is their only road winning streak in the series.
• A fifth consecutive win by the Lions would be the longest winning streak by either team in the series.

CARTHEL PICKS UP WIN NUMBER 50
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 50 wins.
• He is now only 12 wins behind Lion and LSC legend J.V. Sikes, who sits in fourth place with 63 wins.

1

Ernest Hawkins

1964-85

132-92-6

2

Eddie Vowell

1986-98

74-71-1

3

Bob Berry

1935-41, 46-50

72-34-8

4

J.V. Sikes

1954-63

63-34-4

5

Colby Carthel

2013-pres.

51-15

6

M.A. Smith

1951-53

30-2-1

SENIORS ON PACE TO SET SCHOOL RECORD
• The 2017 senior class established the school record for wins in a four-year period with the victory in the National Championship Game with 42 games won in a four-year span.
• The 2018 seniors now rank third in school history at 35-7 with a guarantee of nine more games in the season. The 2013-16 seniors also won 35 games but had more losses than this year’s group.

Years

Record

2014-17

42-10

1951-54

36-5-2

2015-18

35-7

2013-16

35-14

1957-60

34-7

1972-75

32-13-1

1936-39

31-8

1990-93

31-16-1

MARTINEZ CONTINUES TO CLIMB SCORING CHARTS
• Kicker Kristov Martinez scored nine points at William Jewell, going 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and a perfect 3-for-3 on PATs.
• The graduate student from Edinburg is now 3-for-4 on field goal attempts and 7-for-7 on PAT attempts in 2018,
• He is now 57-of-75 on field goal attempts in his career, which is tied for 10th in Division II history. The Division II career record is 82 made field goals.
• West Texas A&M’s Sergio Castillo has the LSC record with 62 field goals.
• Martinez is the Division II active career leader in made field goals, and ranks fourth in all NCAA divisions behind LSU’s Cole Tracy (73), Wisconsin’s Rafael Gaglianone (63) and Toledo’s Jameson Vest (58).
• LSU’s Tracy is actually a Division II transfer from Assumption (Mass.), where he won the Fred Mitchell Award in 2017.
• Martinez is on the preseason watch list for the Mitchell Award.
• For his career, Martinez has made 183-of-190 PAT attempts and is the Division II active career leader. Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert is the all divisions active career leader with 238 made PATs. Martinez is fourth in all divisions behind Seibert, Ohio State’s Sean Nuernberger (195), and North Dakota State’s Cam Pederson (187).
• In terms of overall scoring, Martinez (354 points) is chasing Castillo (437 points), and former Harlon Hill winner at Texas A&I Johnny Bailey (426 points) for the all-time LSC scoring record.
• Martinez was named second-team all-Super Region Four by the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette.
• He has been named a second-team preseason All-American by Lindy’s.
• Martinez was also named LSC All-Academic and A&M-Commerce’s male LSC Scholar-Athlete for 2017-18.

WHEELER TOPS COMPLETION LIST
• Lion quarterback Preston Wheeler was ultra-efficient in his second career start, completing 25-of-31 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.
• That works out to an 80.6 percent completion ratio.
• That percentage is the second-highest in a Division II game this season, only behind Tiffin’s Nick Watson, who completed 24-of-29 passes for the Dragons against Northwood in the opening week of the season. That is an 82.8 percent completion ratio.
• Only 10 quarterbacks have completed 75 percent of their passes or better in a game this season.

“BIG MIKE” BEHIND THE LINE
• Michael Onuoha (pronounced uh-no-ha) has been a menace in the backfield in the opening two games.
• The senior from Edmond, Okla., ranks third nationally in sacks per game, averaging 2.25 sacks per contest. He has 4.5 sacks for losses of 25 yards through two games.
• He is tied for fourth nationally in tackles for loss, with 6.5 tackles for losses of 31 yards.
• Prior to the season, Don Hansen’s Football Gazette named Onuoha an honorable mention All-American and second team all-region pick. He was also a first-team all-Lone Star Conference pick.
• “Big Mike” ranked seventh in the LSC with 12 tackles for loss and recorded 56 tackles in the 2017 season.

HARRIS AWARD NOMINEE IS TOP TACKLER
• The Lions’ leading tackler in senior Brucks Saathoff returns to lead the A&M-Commerce defense.
• The San Antonio native has 20 tackles through two games to lead the Lions for the third straight season.
• He was credited with 12 tackles in the win at William Jewell.
• He was the overall leader in tackles for the Lions in the opener with eight stops against A&M-Kingsville.
• In 2017, Saathoff was the Lion leader with 101 tackles, averaging 6.7 stops per game.
• For his career, Saathoff has 229 tackles, which is the leading mark for the Lions.

SUCCESS ON FIELD AND IN CLASSROOM
• One of the Lions’ top defensive performers was also one of the nation’s top academic performers in 2017.
• Senior Garrett Blubaugh is the second-leading career tackler on the squad.
• The Keller product has made 10 tackles through two games and his 153 career stops make him one of five players on the roster with 100 career tackles.
• Blubaugh was the football winner of the 2017 NCAA Elite 90 Award, which recognizes the top grade point average at the national finals site.
• The biological sciences major was also a Lone Star Conference All-Academic selection.

COOPER CRACKS CENTURY MARK FOR THE FIRST TIME
• Sophomore wide receiver Chance Cooper went over 100 yards receiving in a single game for the first time in his career at William Jewell.
• The Leander Rouse product had eight receptions for 103 yards to top the Lion receiving charts in the game.
• He had a long reception of 43 yards, which set up a late first-half score.
• He has 11 catches for 138 yards through two games. His average of 69 receiving yards per game currently ranks sixth in the Lone Star Conference.
• Cooper is one of three Lion receivers in the top 10 in the LSC in terms of average yardage.
• Marquis Wimberly ranks fifth at 70.0 yards per game and narrowly missed his own century game with 99 yards against A&M-Kingsville.
• Matt Childers ranks ninth at 60.5 yards per game.

Vela’s triple-double leads No. 23 Lions to a 3-1 win over Texas Woman’s in the home opener.

COMMERCE – The No. 23 Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team dropped the opening set to Texas Woman’s University on Tuesday night before rolling through the next three sets to take the 3-1 victory. Set scores were 22-25, 25-15, 25-20, and 25-16.

The Lions are now 8-4 overall and 1-2 in the Lone Star Conference with the win in the home opener, while the Pioneers fall to 6-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.

A&M-Commerce’s next action comes on Saturday at 1:00 pm when the Lions host Texas A&M-Kingsville.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) earned her second triple-double of the season with 14 kills, 17 assists, and 12 digs. Vela hit .345 in the match with only four errors.
– Jaryn Wacker (Austin – Vista Ridge) was the Lions’ offensive leader, throwing down 21 kills against only three errors for a .419 hitting percentage.
– Savannah Rutledge (The Woodlands – College Park) had 22 digs to lead four Lions with double-digit kills.
– Rylie Fuentes (Robinson) passed out 31 assists.
– The Lions had a .240 hitting percentage in the match with 63 kills, compared to TWU’s .124 percentage with 40 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The guests came out with early momentum, as Texas Women’s took an early 7-4 lead with four straight points. The Lions cut the lead to 11-10 before another TWU rally. The Pioneers went from one point lead to a five-point edge at 19-14. A&M-Commerce battled back and brought the deficit back to one point as late as 22-21 before TWU took three of the last four points in the set and went up 1-0. Texas Woman’s hit .306 in the game, while the Lions were limited to a .098 percentage. TWU made five blocks in the frame to neutralize the Lion offense.

A&M-Commerce responded by taking control of the second set early and never relenting. From a 4-4 tie, the Lions scored nine straight points on Vela’s serve. A&M-Commerce used seven kills, a block, and an ace to roar out to a 13-4 lead. The Pioneers could not manage to get their deficit back under eight points through the rest of the set as the Lions rolled to a 25-15 win. A&M-Commerce hit .361 with 17 kills in the game, while holding the Pioneers to a minus-.074 set with five kills to seven errors – four of which came on Lion blocks.

The third set was closely played down the stretch, although A&M-Commerce started out with an early five-point advantage at 13-8. The Pioneers showed fight by going on mini-surges, but the Lions held them at arm’s length, never letting the margin narrow to fewer than three points, and holding on for a 25-20 game win. The Lions had 16 kills against seven errors in the set, and five of those came on TWU blocks.

The Lions closed the match with authority, leaving little doubt which team would earn its first LSC victory. A&M-Commerce took nine of the first 10 points on the serves of Santos and Rutledge. The early advantage deflated the Pioneers’ hopes, as the visitors could not cut the lead to any fewer than eight points, and Vela’s emphatic kill to end the night sealed a runaway victory. The Lions hit .298 in the game and held TWU to a .109 percentage.

After allowing TWU to throw down 15 kills in the opening set, the Lions held the Pioneers to 25 combined kills in the next three games.

Wongsinth is runner-up as Lions take third at Tarleton Invitational.

GLEN ROSE – Led by Sarah Wongsinth’s runner-up performance, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team turned in one of the top tournament scores in school history to place third at the Tarleton Invitational.

Wongsinth (Udon Thani, Thailand) claimed second place in the event with a two-day score of 143 (1-under par), only one stroke behind the tournament champion. The Lions shot a 36-hole event total of 595 (292-303, +19) to finish in third by 11 strokes.

Both the team total and Wongsinth’s score are the third-best 36-hole totals in program history.

Joining Wongsinth in the top five of the individual standings was Paige-Lee Garris (West Palm Beach, Fla.), who shot a 1-under par 71 in Tuesday’s round. She finished in fifth place with a two-day total of 145 (+1). It is Garris’ second career top-five finish.

AMARILLO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team finished in 11th place at the Palmer Foundation Invitational on Tuesday.

The Lions carded a 300 in Tuesday’s round to complete the tournament at 863.

Blake Hartford (Spring – Klein Collins) was the Lions’ top finisher, placing 12th on the leaderboard with a final score of 210 (-3). He shot a 1-under par 70 in Tuesday’s round. He started the day hot with three birdies in his first six holes, and a birdie on his 17th hole put him under par for the day.

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) shot a 1-over par 72 in Tuesday’s round and finished at even par 213 for the 54 hole event to place 19th. He eagled his 17th hole of the day and had two other birdies.

The Lions will have three weeks to practice before returning to the links competitively for three consecutive events. Their next action comes in Albuquerque, N.M. on Oct. 1-2, when Western New Mexico hosts its Fall Invitational at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course.

Rank

Team

Scores

Total

Par

1.

St. Mary’s

275

279

282

836

-16

2.

MSU Texas

277

283

284

844

-8

3.

St. Edward’s

279

281

286

846

-6

4.

Oklahoma Christian

274

291

283

848

-4

5.

Colorado Mesa

284

284

281

849

-3

6.

Regis

282

291

278

851

-1

7.

Hutchinson CC

280

287

291

858

+6

Wayland Baptist

286

285

287

858

+6

9.

Colorado School of Mines

290

283

289

862

+10

Lubbock Christian

290

284

288

862

+10

11.

A&M-COMMERCE

283

280

300

863

+11

12.

Dallas Baptist

289

281

297

867

+15

13.

West Texas A&M

288

288

293

869

+17

14.

Cameron

299

290

290

879

+27

15.

UT Permian Basin

295

296

302

893

+41

A&M-Commerce

283

280

300

863

+11

11th

Blake Hartford

67

73

70

210

-3

t-12th

Zach Burch

69

72

72

213

E

t-19th

Lucas McCubbin

76

65

74

215

+2

28th

Dallas Millin

75

76

84

235

+22

79th

Joe Wolcik

72

70

dq

142

Lion Soccer match against Ouachita Baptist changes time, location.

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team has announced a schedule change. The Lions’ game against Ouachita Baptist will now be at 1:00 pm on Wednesday on the campus of Texas A&M-Texarkana. The game will take place at the TAMUT Soccer Field, located on the TAMUT campus in Texarkana, Texas.